A new friend is better than the old two?
Actually, of course, still the question of who is better ... But the new Pocket PC MyPal A600 (the title translates as "my friend"), released by Taiwan's ASUS, really good. Briefly it can be described as - "a little like Palm, powerful as the Pocket PC". Although, why - how? This is the Pocket PC ... There are no revolutionary innovations in the MyPal you will not find. This is the usual Pocket PC of the last generation, equipped with powerful 400-MHz processor PXA250 (same Intel Xscale). Just made this computer, as all that goes under the brand ASUS, at a decent level. True, there are in this nice machine an attractive and very distinctive feature. It's about an extremely long battery life on your computer. Energy lithium battery lasts as much as 15 hours. A record result, given the small size of the computer itself. How did they build into the pocket little girl a long-lived battery? Although it's probably not so much in the battery, but in well-implemented power saving features ... MyPal A600 (except time work) nothing special stand. The standard PDA-class memory - 32 MB of permanent (flash) and 64 megabytes of. Full-color (65536 colors) reflective display with switchable backlight. All the necessary multimedia stuffing (integrated audio, headphone, microphone). Memory card slot, the ability to connect additional devices (using a standard technique which has become worn "jackets"). But all together turned out just great. Let's take a closer look at the machine - from the perspective of an ordinary user, not a specialist. This can be useful, since ASUS company is not only accurate but also very persistent. It is unlikely to be limited to Asian and European markets, which means that soon we will see MyPal on the shelves of our stores, touch, taste, and quite possibly, to buy for personal use.
A kind word to someone old
I have not noticed that any product manufactured by ASUS has decent quality, and therefore stands out motley variety of competing offerings. I can only confirm this observation, as a longtime user of computer components from ASUS. Many years (for rapid computer standards, of course) on my PC, now owned by his son, the motherboard is ASUS P3B-F. Obsolescent, it still copes with its responsibilities, and never for more than three years has not delivered any problems. This spontaneous and not sanctioned by anyone (not to be considered the author's worse than it actually is) dithyramb - a tribute to one of the most respected Asian manufacturers dobivshemusya impressive quality of the computer named "glands." Incidentally, the reason for my conservative (as you can hold on to the old as a pterodactyl egg, a technique?) That I can not pick up their "big" car worthy replacement. Components of the cheaper ASUS can not call and waste your time on the devices of dubious origin is not desirable. (The real reason lies in my innate skuperdyaystve and that I have long been over to the laptops). Why these intimate confessions? In addition, the new Pocket PC will certainly cause the trust of many users, who ate more than one peck of salt with an unnamed production machines, and then appreciate the products of recognized brands. Personally, I am in no way have no doubt as computers from Hewlett-Packard and Casio. But if I had a choice at the time (still is - not the last day we live!), I would very much thought of whether to take my machine from ASUS ... In the meantime, with the curiosity to view images MyPal A600 and re releases. And while I think that the new machines from Toshiba appeared very serious competitor. Especially the ASUS in the field of handheld computers is no longer a rookie.
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Raisin in Taiwan
What can be seen in the photographs, and what you can deduct in the specification suggests that the machine should turn out successful. The convenience of the location of the control buttons keep silent because they are comfortable in any case where they do not Pristrom (the user is able to get used to anything if it's not quite so outrageous trash). But on the body machine can talk to. The fact that the body MyPal made of aluminum. The fashion for light alloys as the structural CCP is not opening ASUS. In aluminum were collected computers Palm Vxx, Sony Series T, popular iPaq. And this is not always turned out good, although at first glance metal housing must be durable plastic. Polished or matted in a special way aluminum is protected against oxidation with varnish. According to the experience of using machines Sony (alas, not me, but a close acquaintance) I know that in normal operation, when the computer hangs in the pocket with keys and other "stitching" items, aluminum body rapidly loses its marketability. That is covered with scratches and dents. That's not all. Where constant contact fingers polishes plastic to an unpleasant gloss, protective coating aluminum body darkens, and then descends. As of this scourge or protect themselves, and it completely unavoidable. On the other hand, the surface of the shell structure MyPal looks like the surface of lighters Zippo. You know, those old, broken time, cigarette lighters, which forty years of age, and anything they do not do it. Among these new instances, too, come across, if you choose not courtly splendor and stark cowboy sermyagu ... Anyway, see what happens in reality. The outer casing MyPal very attractive. Especially a couple of LED indicators, dashing to go off the left side, and holes in the navigation button, reveal a systematic speaker.
Good friend should be more
It in fact must be more so if it's a true friend. Not in terms of physical size, so at least with respect to the brain ... The MyPal A600 built-in slot for flash memory cards and various devices extension format MultiMedia card and Secure Digital. So, it was stated during his first presentation of cars in March 2002 at an exhibition in Hanover. That is a normal slot, SD / MMC, which with a light hand Palm became the accepted industry standard. Dimensions cards SD / MMC slot to allow you to squeeze the most compact body, not sacrificing anything except, perhaps, the user's wallet. Yet tiddly Secure Digital cards are significantly more expensive than popular CompactFlash. The computer press is possible to find a reference to a promise to release the ASUS MyPal "jacket" with a slot CF. Such an extension would take advantage of peripherals, which are in the form factor CF produced more (at least for now) than in the miniature buildings SD.
A healthy, deep sleep
However, the main feature of the new PDA - energy system. Indeed, 15 hours of standard battery does not work, no family of handheld Pocket PC. Can do it only keyboard Jornada 720, and then only with a substantial addition in the form of an optional external battery ... For many years the acknowledged leader in energy-saving technologies for laptops was the company Apple. Today portable Macs that are weak and slow does not call one of the "LPs" notebooks on the market. Technologies that were used in the PowerBook `iBook` ah and ah, it's special hardware and software mechanisms to monitor the load on the computer systems and their inaction instantly lower supply voltage, thus reducing the overall power consumption laptop.Example - stop the hard drive with no recourse to him for some time in plants. Apple did not achieve passed notebook manufacturers a family of Wintel. Today, all laptops in varying degrees are supplied with systems of energy saving, but not all allow you to extend battery life the way it works a little Macs. In the field of handheld computers the problem of limited battery capacity is greatest. In a small enclosure PDA is physically impossible to build enough capacity battery ... capacious enough - for what? In the first place to ensure effective illumination color screen, without which the PDA can be used only in daylight. The second energy consumer battery - the CPU. Consequently, the scheme of energy must somehow manage energy lamp backlight (lamp itself must also be extremely cost-effective) and lower power CPU during idle times. How does the proprietary technology ASUS Smart Power Saving, remains a mystery. But if we are not talking about hungry every minute "fainting" PDA and computer is able to function at maximum energy efficiency, the engineers and in fact succeeded in convincing results ... Unfortunately, the manufacturer's battery life of handheld computer is rarely the case. That means, for example, the formula - "a normal work week? Normal for whom? For a normal user, which includes a machine for fifteen seconds a day? What he then normal, this poor user? Very often, this "rule" is reduced to what a computer is recommended to use no more than an hour a day at minimum brightness backlight. In such circumstances, the standard Pocket PC can work without recharging, and two weeks, and the most defective in this respect, Casio BE-300 seems to be simply long-lived. In practice, the BE-300 does not pull and 4 hours of continuous battery life, and other Pocket PC work a little more ... What can I say? We'll see. ASUS never seems to be not deceived by their users. If notified 15 hours, then, must be exactly 15 ... Or at least 14 and a half.
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Cold shower for a hot head
Massive sales MyPal A600 should start coming in the fall. Around late September - early October, the clipper can be expected in Europe. Around the same time, I think, she gets up to us. Another question - whether to last out till it we? The expected cost of new items - about $ 700. Obtained wow sweet ... Yet even this computer, and handsome, but no extraordinary "bloat" deprived. He hath no built-in Bluetooth, no camera, no pull-out keyboard. What is there still ohmuryayut unsuspecting buyers, developers handheld machines? However, such equipment as computers Pocket PC, cheap in any case does not happen. But now the potential user of the Pocket PC there are additional options. Someone will catch the fancy new Toshiba e310, someone will be faithful iPaq `y, someone will not stay to see MyPal. Let them be as much as possible. And let them be as diverse as possible. The authors, translation:
